


And Here It Starts (The Magic Is Just Beginning)

by flipflop_diva



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Hogwarts First Year, Pre-Canon, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23280535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: It's the first year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And no one knows what to expect.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: Worldbuilding Exchange 2020





	And Here It Starts (The Magic Is Just Beginning)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jenett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenett/gifts).



Penelope Aberdeen was nervous. She clutched her newly made hawthorn wand in one hand (a present from the old man in the neighboring village) and in the other tightly gripped an old trunk of her mother’s, now filled with dresses and a robe (made for her by the old man’s wife), a few books, quills and ink.

She wanted to look again at the wrinkled parchment she had tucked down inside her dress for safekeeping, but she was too nervous to let go of either her wand or her trunk. And besides, she knew what it said, word for word.

_Dear Miss Aberdeen,_

_We are writing to you today to request your presence at our new magical school, the only one of its kind. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will serve as a fine establishment, offering only the best magical education to the children of our region. We will teach you everything you need to know, from potions to transfiguration to care of our enchanting magical creatures._

_We invite you to take this journey with us, and be one of the first students in our new school._

_Transportation to the school will be provided from your village, at approximately eleven in the morning on the first day of September. A list of necessary supplies for your school year will be sent once we receive confirmation of your attendance._

_Please reply by Owl Post your response within the week._

_Yours truly,  
Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, Founders, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Penelope had known about the new magic school before the letter had come — of course she had. It was all everyone had been talking about, her parents included. 

No one had known who was going to be invited to attend — every magical child in the region? Just a few select ones? But all the children hoped they would somehow be offered a place of attendance.

Her friend, Sally, had been the first child in their village to get a letter. It had come on a Wednesday morning, the day she had turned eleven. In the days that followed, a few other children, all older than Penelope and Sally, received their letters.

One by one they ran through the streets, waving their letters high in the air. And then they would huddle together, discussing what it would be like to be there, to learn all the magic they could hardly dare to think about.

Penelope had watched all of them with a sadness she could not describe. But then, on her eleventh birthday, which had fallen on a Saturday in late June, a small brown owl had landed beside her as she did her morning chores. She had just been on her way to tend to the cows when there the little animal was, a scroll tied with a gleaming red ribbon fastened to its leg.

She had seen the crest — the same one that was in all the other children’s letters — before she had even removed the scroll from the owl’s leg, and she had opened the paper with shaking hands, tears of excitement welling up in her eyes. She had run, crying and laughing and almost shrieking, to see her mother, who was outside doing the wash, and she had held out the paper to her, it bobbing in the air until her mother took it and read it and then scooped her daughter up into a hug.

And now Penelope was here, waiting alongside what looked to be like maybe thirty or so other witches and wizards, many from her village or the surrounding ones and a few she had never seen before. Most of them appeared to be older than her and Sally, some even toward their later teenage years.

Penelope wasn’t sure what was about to happen, now or when they arrived at the school. She had never been away from her parents before nor had she ever been away from her little brothers or sisters. But she was also worried about what would be expected of her. She knew basic magic but what if she wasn’t good enough for the school? What if they took one look at her and sent her back home?

There was a rumbling through the air, one that almost seemed to come from the ground below them, and Penelope and the other children who were there all took a step back, more out of instinct than anything. And then, in the middle of the group, as if it really did come up from the ground, appeared a covered wagon unlike anything Penelope had ever seen.

It was black, with black curtains. And it didn’t appear to be pulled by anyone or anything, even though the ropes that would usually be attached to a horse were there, floating in midair. 

As she stared, more and more wagons began to appear as well, until there were maybe ten different ones, all in a row and all with ropes but no horses. 

While the students stood there staring, the black curtains over the entranceway to each wagon pulled back, as if by an invisible hand, and the wagons seemed to beckon to them all. One by one the students crept forward, the daring ones leaping in first and then waving toward the others, letting them know it was okay, until finally they were all heaving their trucks up the little black steps to the wagons.

Penelope found herself in the second wagon with a pair of red-headed twins who looked about her age and an older boy with blond hair, none of whom she knew. The wagon was much roomier inside than it appeared on the outside, and she looked around it in amazement. She had never seen anything quite like it; it was almost as big as the sitting room of her house.

There were three comfy-looking armchairs on each side of the wagon, all covered in black fabric and facing each other. In between the two rows of chairs was a small table that had a pile of snacks on it — everything from candies to sandwiches to treacle tarts. 

A wooden rack hung from the ceiling, clearly meant for their trunks, and the older boy helped them heave their belongings up there and out of the way.

Just as the last trunk slid into place, a whistle sounded, much like someone calling people to order, and Penelope and the three boys took their seats in the comfy chairs. Hers was right next to the outside edge, but as she stretched her hand out, she realized she couldn’t touch the outside as she could in any other wagon she had ever been in. This edge was almost like touching smooth, perfectly clear glass.

As she examined the invisible window, their wagon began to move, slowly at first, and then faster, and she watched as her village disappeared and then countryside she had never seen appeared, small towns here and there, and then nothing but lakes and rivers and forests, and Penelope stared out of the wagon the whole time, her eyes wide with amazement.

They traveled for hours upon hours. The children ate their snacks and spoke a little. A couple of the boys slept. But Penelope mostly watched the land go by, looking at places she had never known existed. 

But then, just as the sun was about to disappear for the day and just as she was beginning to wonder if they would ever get there, the wagon rounded a corner, and Penelope gasped, and she heard the boys beside her gasp too

There, coming into view, was the most gorgeous castle she could ever have imagined. She had never seen one in person, but she had heard stories of what they were like, and this one surpassed every story, even the ones in the fairytales her grandmother was so fond of telling. It stood, large and beautiful, full of towers and turrets and windows. Light shined from almost every window, casting sparkling light down on to the ground. Wisps of fog wrapped around the uppermost floors, and she could almost hear the castle itself calling her name.

In front of the castle she could see a lake and a magnificent green lawn. Behind it, she could see towering trees, stretching their branches into the evening sky. 

It was everything Penelope ever could have imagined and more, and she could hardly believe that this amazing place was about to be her new home. 

The wagon began to slow, until finally it stopped, along with all the other ones, just feet from a large oak front door. Penelope and the boys climbed out of the wagon and stood together in front of it as children in other wagons all got out too. Glancing around, Penelope could see even more wagons than the ones that had picked them up in her village, and more and more children she had never before seen were exiting, almost everyone looking around with an expression of nervousness and excitement.

A loud noise cut through the air, and every head turned toward the castle. The very large door was swinging open, and then there they were, stepping outside on to the top of the stairs, the four people who Penelope had seen in pamphlets describing the new school: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!” Godric Gryffindor boomed, and his voice carried over all the nervous students. “We are so pleased you could make it. Come in, come in. It is time for your journey to begin!”

The four founders moved to the side as children began to climb the staircase to the front door, most of them smiling and chatting and shaking hands of the four people greeting them. But Penelope couldn’t move. She stared up at the castle above her and once again wondered if she even belonged her.

She didn’t realize almost every other person had disappeared until there was a soft touch on her shoulder. She blinked, as if coming out of a trance, and realized Helga Hufflepuff was right in front of her.

“It’s okay, dear.” Helga’s voice was as calm and as gentle as her touch. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Hogwarts is a wonderful place, and this will be your home.”

Penelope didn’t know why, but she believed her, and she felt her nerves slowly subsiding, almost if by magic. She let Helga lead her toward the stairs and up to the door, and as Penelope glanced behind her at the empty wagons, piles of trunks now sitting on the grass, she couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on her lips.

Maybe Helga was right. Maybe this was about to be her home. She hoped so anyway.

She turned back to the front door and let Helga lead her inside.


End file.
